10 Essential Criteria For Choosing Your Target Market
A specific group of people you will focus on selling your services to is your target market. This is not to be confused with the problem you will be solving for this group. Why choose a target market? You need to decide exactly who your audience is before you sell your services. Deciding on your target market lays a critical foundation for your business. When you get clear about who your target market is, you will: * know where to focus your selling and marketing efforts. * know where to focus your research efforts. You want to intimately understand your market: the problems they have and the language they speak. The greater your level of understanding the more magnetic you will become. Your target market will determine your income and success. Choose the wrong one and you will waste a lot of time and money with very little results. Whatever target market -TM- you choose, check to see that it meets the following 10 essential criteria: 1. Your TM has a big problem. They think about it all the time, it keeps them awake at night. 2. Your TM wants the problem solved. The impact and cost of the problem is big enough that they will act to solve it (some people have problems they are quite happy to live with!). 3. You can easily find your TM. Do they belong to associations? Are there conferences for this target market? Are there publications? Where do they hangout? If it's not easy to find your target market, it will cost you a lot of money to find them. 4. Your TM has money to spend. No point having a terrific service if your target market hasn't the money to pay for it. I know this sounds basic but it's often overlooked. 5. Your TM has a history of paying to have this problem solved. You want to focus on a target market where there is a proven track record of problems and people paying to solve them. A good sign is if your competitors are selling similar services to the target market. 6. There's enough of your TM out there to sustain a business. How many people or businesses are in your target market? Realistically how many will become your clients and what will that be worth to you? Is that enough? 7. You enjoy working with your TM. Think about what types of people are in your target market and visualize being with them day in and day out. How does that feel? Will you feel energized or drained at the end of the day? Remember, you are also in business to enjoy yourself so make sure you will enjoy working with this target market. 8. You have a passion for helping and serving this TM. Passion is an essential ingredient for selling your services. 9. You have valuable expertise and experience you can offer. Your target market will want to buy from people who are experts in their field. Think about what specific expertise and experience you can offer your target market. 10. Your TM fits with your ultimate lifestyle package. What hours do you want to work? Where do you want to work? How do you want to work? Does this fit in with your target market? Ensure that working with your target market will enable you to live the kind of life you want to live. Once you have found your target market, the next step is to refine it even further. Decide on the profile of your ideal client. What sort of person are they? Decide on their demographics and psychographics. Demographics are the basic facts like age, gender, income, location, etc. Psychographics are their characteristics, values etc. This will enable you to focus even more. The clearer you are about who you want to do business with, the more you will attract exactly the clientele you're looking for. You will then need your Sales Conversation skills to convert them to clients. (c) Tessa Stowe, Sales Conversation Pty Ltd. 2005 Tessa Stowe works with self employed professionals who are struggling to sell their Services. To learn more about this and to sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit her site at http://www.salesconversation.com NOTE: You are welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to tessa@salesconversation.com.
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Niche And Grow Rich
Unless you've been living under an Internet rock, you've
probably heard the buzz about Niche Marketing. Right now
it's the hottest marketing topic online.
How Toyota Captured the #1 Market Share . . . Through Solid Decision-Making!
How Toyota Captured the #1 Market Share . . . Through Solid Decision-Making!
High Response Marketing With Low-Cost Postcards
Postcards can drive a huge amount of traffic to your web site, generate a flood of new sales leads or produce a surge in any business activity you want. And you don't have to spend a lot of time or money on them ...if you apply these four little-known postcard marketing secrets.
Three Alternative Methods On Getting Quality Testimonials with Bonus
Here are three alternatives to increase your testimonial numbers or their quality. Create an online diary or blog, use an auto responder method, set up a form on your web site or set up a survey.
Writing Business Newsletters: Avoid the ?Me, Me, Me? Mistake
Effective customer newsletters find the right mix of promotional and 'real' content to maximize readership.
Four Super-Deadly Marketing Sins - And How To Fix Them
5 Ways to Give Your Web Site a Big-Company Look and Feel
We all DO judge a book by its cover, and the same saying goes for Web sites. I've seen many entrepreneurs offer great information on their Web pages, but compromise their image dramatically with a few amateur mistakes that can be VERY unforgiving.
Testing Your Way To Prosperity
I have always enjoyed talking to a Realtor friend of mine about his Father-in-laws business. His business is Gold Mining and he has been involved in it full time for nearly his whole life. My friend has a good relationship with his Father-in-law and often spends time helping him in this business and has learned a lot about prospecting and mining and the other facets of this extremely risky industry.
Marketing ? Like a Game of Chess
Have you started thinking about your Valentines Day Promotion yet?
Successful Marketing Through Seminars
One of the best ways for potential clients to find out about you and your company is through public speaking. Free seminars attract potential clients. It is a chance for them to get information straight from you. You are the best marketing tool for your business. Speaking to groups is nothing more than a large conversation. It is powerful and efficient marketing.
Marketing Hat for Graphic Designers or Wannabe?s
Many people think that the quality of any graphic design is determined by how aesthetically pleasing it is: Although making the card look good is important, this couldn't be further from the truth. The only true measure of any design, at least commercially, is "How well does it pull?". By pull we mean what type of response does it elicit? Does it pull in calls, or pull people into the store? In essence, does the design accomplish what it set out to do?
Small Business Bonzai Marketing
Do you own a small business? Do you wish to increase sales? Do you wish to draw more customers into your store or find more customers for your service business? You can do this for a relatively low cost by building as small sales team of high-energy people. Direct Sales marketing will help increase your business, future referrals and image in the community. Letting potential clients know you want their business is the best way to attract new customers to your business. To do this correctly you will need a small budget set aside for a one week Bonzai Marketing Program;
Helping Your Prospects Overcome ?Buying Fears? By Using Testimonials
You DO use direct marketing for your small business? right? If so, you're taking advantage of the most cost-effective means of advertising available. (Yes? I'm biased? I admit it!)
Promotional Mugs: Become a Part of the Legendary Coffee Experience
When you want someone to like you, associate yourself with something that they love. Take coffee for instance. How much of America, or the world for that matter, would still be asleep if it weren't for this dark, smoky beverage?
Fundraising Letters Are Easier To Write With AIDA
Learn a lesson from professional direct mail copywriters. They follow a time-tested format in their sales letters, a format that you can also follow when writing direct mail fundraising letters for your non-for-profit organization. All you need to remember is AIDA.
Pamphlets and the Money They?ll Put in Your Pocket
People are making a fortune on pamphlets. If you go into an airport you can purchase a pamphlet for around $6.95, and it probably cost under fifty cents to produce. It blows my mind to think that little folded up booklets are the sole reason that some people are rich today. It's crazy.
Why Your Sales Copy Should Be Written As If It Will Never Be Read At All!
What is enthusiasm?
4 Sales Strategies with Your Trade Show Exhibition Booth
Trade show booths can act as an excellent source for generating sales enquiries in the short run. Companies are able to demonstrate their products or services and get instant enquiries at the booth which on timely follow up can result in sales. Some of the tips on how to maximize the benefits of a trade show booth as a sales tool are mentioned below:
After The Mailing Is Done, What Happens Next?
If you're doing any sort of marketing effort, whether it's getting news coverage or sending a postcard, you must be prepared for what happens next. If you're sending postcards promoting your business, and you have people working for you, tell them that you sent the card. There's nothing worse than having your customers, postcards in hand, coming into your business and being greeted by an employee who says "Huh? What special promotion?" Fortunately, there's any easy way to solve this problem. Here's an idea from one of my postcard marketing workshop participants: Whenever she has a mustn't-be-ignored announcement for her coffee house staff, she puts it in their pay envelopes. So, in a nutshell, chance favors the prepared marketer.
Why Doubling Your Fees Can Increase Business: How Pricing Affects Buyers Decision Making Process
Want to know the simple way to get all the business you could ever handle? Charge almost nothing.
|
